Thank GOD... time to go home...
Friday, April 08, 2005
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Day Four.
(Chuck E. Cheese and other nightmares)
Have you ever asked yourself, post seemingly great idea... "what the @#*@& was I thinking?"
Took the girls (and five other children, that makes SEVEN total, mind you) to "kids favorite place on earth," Chuck E. Cheese's. Yeah. Me, my friend Stephanie, and about three million other mommies had this same idea today.
Pictures later.
Rachael
(Chuck E. Cheese and other nightmares)
Have you ever asked yourself, post seemingly great idea... "what the @#*@& was I thinking?"
Took the girls (and five other children, that makes SEVEN total, mind you) to "kids favorite place on earth," Chuck E. Cheese's. Yeah. Me, my friend Stephanie, and about three million other mommies had this same idea today.
Pictures later.
Rachael
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
DAY THREE
...the adventure continues....
I am back at work again today... the girls have begrudgingly gone to daycare and on a skating field trip. Their little lives are so tortured. Skating.... friends... junk food... no parents... I mean, what will I think of next? No, there will definitely be no fun at all for them today. I did manage some Starbucks on the way home to calm the mommy-you're-so-mean-for-leaving-us-here-with-all-our-friends-we-never-get-to-play-with nerves... amazing how it only takes $1.93 to calm me down.
...the adventure continues....
I am back at work again today... the girls have begrudgingly gone to daycare and on a skating field trip. Their little lives are so tortured. Skating.... friends... junk food... no parents... I mean, what will I think of next? No, there will definitely be no fun at all for them today. I did manage some Starbucks on the way home to calm the mommy-you're-so-mean-for-leaving-us-here-with-all-our-friends-we-never-get-to-play-with nerves... amazing how it only takes $1.93 to calm me down.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Today.
much to the girls dismay, today we have a "to do" list....
much to the girls dismay, today we have a "to do" list....
finish cleaning out girls room- finish spring wardrobe overhaul
- pack up winter clothes, seperate for goodwill and little friends
- finish going through toys, etc... donate to Mimi's church
- drop by library and donate gently loved books
take SB and J shopping for needed shorts, flip flops and etc.- take car for service
- weekly car clean out/wash/etc
You know they are just thrilled.... thrilled, I tell you.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Junk Email
hate this stuff... yet find the titles mildly entertaining.
hate this stuff... yet find the titles mildly entertaining.
- Get Paid For Your Opinion! (Tim, maybe you should warn these people... :-) )
- Claim your complimentary Handbag
- PSP Gamers online forum Rachael Thackston (what??)
- Eliminate Your debt the Christian way (no... not enough fun)
- Have a kitchen or bathroom that needs updated - it could be on us (try a whole house and we have a deal...)
- Rachael do you prefer shopping at Target or Walmart? (well, that depends... I mean, I own stock in both and prefer Target when shopping without the girls and Walmart when with the girls but it's usually crowded and full of rednecks not to mention.... oh, nevermind)
- If you use it ... You will Lose It
- Money Deposited Tomorrow Into Your Checking Acct. (YES!!! FINALLY!!!)
- Mortgage Assistance - THE CHRISTIAN WAY! (once again, NO.)
- Hot New Career Opportunity
- Need Quick Cash? (duh...)
- Meet Real Christian Singles (once more... no - emphatically... NO.)
- Please do not let your cash advance go unclaimed
First day of Spring Break, and all is well, well, well.
Well for me anyway. I escaped home for a few hours of work in my favorite little shop...
Sarah Beth is on the golf course with Pa today for nine holes of agonizing bathroom going fun... and the worst part is, she'll probably beat him. (she took her little clubs today... cute!)
... and, when I last saw Jordin, she was at home with Mimi, playing Barbies and wearing her new swimsuit. Better not to ask.
:-)
Rach
Well for me anyway. I escaped home for a few hours of work in my favorite little shop...
Sarah Beth is on the golf course with Pa today for nine holes of agonizing bathroom going fun... and the worst part is, she'll probably beat him. (she took her little clubs today... cute!)
... and, when I last saw Jordin, she was at home with Mimi, playing Barbies and wearing her new swimsuit. Better not to ask.
:-)
Rach
Sunday, April 03, 2005
"The Club"
and other politically incorrect activities
What do you suppose is the fascination with children and things they shouldn't do? Why, for example, must Sarah Beth insist on running through mud puddles and soaking her shoes, when I have asked her at least a bazillion times not to? Why must Jordin insist on doing "luxurious hair move" (i.e., tossing head back to flip mane of hair around to back) even though she has already almost broken my nose while doing so? Why?
Sarah Beth and Jordin have a new favorite place to play. And, if you haven't guessed already from the previous paragraph... it ain't makin' momma too happy. Granted, it's their favorite place in the world - the only place where some sort of sisterhood utopia must exist, as they can play for hours there and never raise a voice at each other..... it's affectionately dubbed, "The Club."
Dying to know where "the club" is? Well... right on the banks of the creek behind my house. It appears that an old tree's branches are growing towards the ground, making a perfect little cave between the trunk and the branches, just on the creekbank. We have toted dolls there, barbies, dress up clothes, and even snacks. Blankets, pillows, cups, and even Hunter on occasion.
Now, when I was little, playing in the creek was no big deal. I would be down there for hours at a time.. hours. I would slip off my shoes, slide down the bank, and land in the creek. After investigating all the animal prints on the side of the bank, and chasing away any and all wildlife (included, but not limited to water spiders, misc bugs and insects, the occasional raccon, etc) I would then tromp up and down until bored. This was a favorite past time. Of course, I was also allowed to ride my bicycle to the end (THE END 1.25 miles) of my road by myself. I was also allowed to dress up in actual "scary" Halloween costumes... also, I was allowed to "win" a softball game with my team. Whoa.
Something about my own children dancing down the creek bank disturbs me. I mean, what about scary snakes and BIG spiders? Has anyone thought about the quality of that water? And, are there bobcats down there waiting to make their afternoon snack out of my children? What if an eColi virus strain is traveling through the creek? What if Jordin thinks it's funny to drink the creek water? WHAT IF?!!!?? Jordin told me the other day that on the first trip to "the club," that apparently "the mommy dear was really scared when we got there so she just ran away to find another place to maybe take a nap or something." WHAT?? A LIVE ANIMAL?
I mean listen, we had mommies here at the Easter Egg Hunt that were flat out appalled that my kids were allowed to run around barefoot in the yard. These of course, were the same SUV driving mommies who had a strange fear of parking in grass. Weird. Anyway.
I ask you... what has changed in the twenty or so years that I was a kid? Why are my children forbidden to mention "the club" in my presence? Why does Sarah Beth think I am completely lame for not letting her play there? Why are the bicycle rides only a story I can tell? (calm down, people, there will be no riding outside of the driveway) Why don't I let them dress up in scary Halloween costumes? And, why, WHY can there be no official "winner" at the soccer games? All of the above just seems icky now... especially the thought of the girls playing anywhere near the creek. I guess in the years since my childhood, the danger of drowning or something else awful has just increased. That has to be it. But, I can assure you - if it gets too quiet over here, and the girls are no where to be found... stand on the back porch and yell their names... you WILL hear rustling down by the creek... and see the two of them come dashing to the house, each one screaming that the other one 'made me do it.'
Oy vey. Raising kids is hard... especially politically correct kids.
and other politically incorrect activities
What do you suppose is the fascination with children and things they shouldn't do? Why, for example, must Sarah Beth insist on running through mud puddles and soaking her shoes, when I have asked her at least a bazillion times not to? Why must Jordin insist on doing "luxurious hair move" (i.e., tossing head back to flip mane of hair around to back) even though she has already almost broken my nose while doing so? Why?
Sarah Beth and Jordin have a new favorite place to play. And, if you haven't guessed already from the previous paragraph... it ain't makin' momma too happy. Granted, it's their favorite place in the world - the only place where some sort of sisterhood utopia must exist, as they can play for hours there and never raise a voice at each other..... it's affectionately dubbed, "The Club."
Dying to know where "the club" is? Well... right on the banks of the creek behind my house. It appears that an old tree's branches are growing towards the ground, making a perfect little cave between the trunk and the branches, just on the creekbank. We have toted dolls there, barbies, dress up clothes, and even snacks. Blankets, pillows, cups, and even Hunter on occasion.
Now, when I was little, playing in the creek was no big deal. I would be down there for hours at a time.. hours. I would slip off my shoes, slide down the bank, and land in the creek. After investigating all the animal prints on the side of the bank, and chasing away any and all wildlife (included, but not limited to water spiders, misc bugs and insects, the occasional raccon, etc) I would then tromp up and down until bored. This was a favorite past time. Of course, I was also allowed to ride my bicycle to the end (THE END 1.25 miles) of my road by myself. I was also allowed to dress up in actual "scary" Halloween costumes... also, I was allowed to "win" a softball game with my team. Whoa.
Something about my own children dancing down the creek bank disturbs me. I mean, what about scary snakes and BIG spiders? Has anyone thought about the quality of that water? And, are there bobcats down there waiting to make their afternoon snack out of my children? What if an eColi virus strain is traveling through the creek? What if Jordin thinks it's funny to drink the creek water? WHAT IF?!!!?? Jordin told me the other day that on the first trip to "the club," that apparently "the mommy dear was really scared when we got there so she just ran away to find another place to maybe take a nap or something." WHAT?? A LIVE ANIMAL?
I mean listen, we had mommies here at the Easter Egg Hunt that were flat out appalled that my kids were allowed to run around barefoot in the yard. These of course, were the same SUV driving mommies who had a strange fear of parking in grass. Weird. Anyway.
I ask you... what has changed in the twenty or so years that I was a kid? Why are my children forbidden to mention "the club" in my presence? Why does Sarah Beth think I am completely lame for not letting her play there? Why are the bicycle rides only a story I can tell? (calm down, people, there will be no riding outside of the driveway) Why don't I let them dress up in scary Halloween costumes? And, why, WHY can there be no official "winner" at the soccer games? All of the above just seems icky now... especially the thought of the girls playing anywhere near the creek. I guess in the years since my childhood, the danger of drowning or something else awful has just increased. That has to be it. But, I can assure you - if it gets too quiet over here, and the girls are no where to be found... stand on the back porch and yell their names... you WILL hear rustling down by the creek... and see the two of them come dashing to the house, each one screaming that the other one 'made me do it.'
Oy vey. Raising kids is hard... especially politically correct kids.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Cool new book
It's amazing what a little Target at 9:45 PM can do for the soul.
Eric Carle is one of my favorite children's authors. He is probably most known in the land of preschoolers for "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." We love his books at my house - and have a vast collection of his "work." This year, in fact, Jordin received her very own copy of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See," from Gov. Sonny Perdue. She says she's reading it, but heaven knows she's got it memorized, unless of course she has learned to read while holding the book upside down (god bless her little left handed self).
(dear God, when did I start talking about children's authors like fine art?)
Anyhow... tonight at Target, I saw the "new" one.... "Mister Seahorse." It's all about FATHERS who take care of their BABIES ... you know, those new fangled "modern" parenting styles. Oh my, probably not something that the religious conservatives in the world would go for. No, it's not about stay at home dads or anything peachy like that... it's about daddies who are caring for their little unhatched offspring all by themselves. Neat. Leave it to good ole Eric. He comes up with some cool concept, paints a few amazing illustrations - and bingo - a new addition to the bestseller list.
I flipped through the pages... another amazing classic. However, rather than be one of those crazy moms who thinks her daughters can play football and be in boy scouts if they want to - I left it serenely there on the shelf... just waiting for the right daddy to come along.... :-)
(incidentally, if you want to know more about Eric's work, or see his new release, "10 Little Rubber Ducks," you can check out his site linked above....)
It's amazing what a little Target at 9:45 PM can do for the soul.
Eric Carle is one of my favorite children's authors. He is probably most known in the land of preschoolers for "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." We love his books at my house - and have a vast collection of his "work." This year, in fact, Jordin received her very own copy of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See," from Gov. Sonny Perdue. She says she's reading it, but heaven knows she's got it memorized, unless of course she has learned to read while holding the book upside down (god bless her little left handed self).
(dear God, when did I start talking about children's authors like fine art?)
Anyhow... tonight at Target, I saw the "new" one.... "Mister Seahorse." It's all about FATHERS who take care of their BABIES ... you know, those new fangled "modern" parenting styles. Oh my, probably not something that the religious conservatives in the world would go for. No, it's not about stay at home dads or anything peachy like that... it's about daddies who are caring for their little unhatched offspring all by themselves. Neat. Leave it to good ole Eric. He comes up with some cool concept, paints a few amazing illustrations - and bingo - a new addition to the bestseller list.
I flipped through the pages... another amazing classic. However, rather than be one of those crazy moms who thinks her daughters can play football and be in boy scouts if they want to - I left it serenely there on the shelf... just waiting for the right daddy to come along.... :-)
(incidentally, if you want to know more about Eric's work, or see his new release, "10 Little Rubber Ducks," you can check out his site linked above....)
Friday, April 01, 2005
Gratitude Disclaimer.
So... I just want to add a teeny little disclaimer to my blog. This week was one of great distress regarding my blog - and, while I think it's all resolved now, I think it time to "right" the situation by sharing some things I don't usually think to say.... ok? Ok.
This blog is about me... and who I am I? Single mom Rachael. I have told you all about my "kid card," the million questions per day, the snotty noses and the cussing British teacher. I have written my woes about dating, raising children, and just day to day life... and no blog about or by a single mom would be complete without some mention of the (former) significant other... his name here, is Jim... Jimmy when I feel like being slightly annoying....
What can I say? The boy, despite my divorce status and semi-annual arguments, is the father of my children, one of my dearest friends, and one of the great loves of my life. Even now, three years later, I can tell you that I have never loved anyone quite to the degree of Jim - and 90% of that can be found in the faces of my sweet children - who act and look (though sometimes not in the best of ways) just like him. I see his face in theirs every morning when they crawl into bed with me, bedhead and sleepy eyed - and I hear his voice every time Sarah Beth presents a reasonable argument against whatever I might be telling her to do ... and that's often, people. The child is a future litigator, I swear.
Why the disclaimer? Because, despite what you might think from reading this... our relationship is one that I cherish, and share with no one else. I know no other divorced couple who is getting along as well as the two of us... or who has decided to raise their children so well, together. While I am custodial parent - Jim has chosen to make the absolute best of life - bettering himself with the best of education, community service, and mentorship. He is at the top of his class, and making it all work while being a father at the same time. And, while I do find it mildly (ok, INCREDIBLY) annoying that they come home most often with each other's clothes on, and no hairbows, he does a damn fine job being daddy... all the time. He is there when he can be, and sometimes even when he can't be - and is always forgiving of change of schedules, dance recitals, and the millionth question when I am tired of answering.
We do dinner or lunch together at least twice a month - talk about parent teacher conferences, homework, shoe sizes and funny things they say. I call him upon their request, and he always has as long as needed to soothe whatever feeling has been hurt, whatever question needs to be answered, or whatever argument needs to be solved. Sarah Beth rarely asks me her "scientific" questions anymore... as she knows I am always going to tell her daddy knows better than I do.... of course, now she says that boys know more than girls, which we all know is obviously not true... but, I digress.
Every divorced couple should be more like us... raising our children together, and forgetting the rest of the stuff in the middle. It's really not that important anyway.
Well... usually.
:-)
Rachael
So... I just want to add a teeny little disclaimer to my blog. This week was one of great distress regarding my blog - and, while I think it's all resolved now, I think it time to "right" the situation by sharing some things I don't usually think to say.... ok? Ok.
This blog is about me... and who I am I? Single mom Rachael. I have told you all about my "kid card," the million questions per day, the snotty noses and the cussing British teacher. I have written my woes about dating, raising children, and just day to day life... and no blog about or by a single mom would be complete without some mention of the (former) significant other... his name here, is Jim... Jimmy when I feel like being slightly annoying....
What can I say? The boy, despite my divorce status and semi-annual arguments, is the father of my children, one of my dearest friends, and one of the great loves of my life. Even now, three years later, I can tell you that I have never loved anyone quite to the degree of Jim - and 90% of that can be found in the faces of my sweet children - who act and look (though sometimes not in the best of ways) just like him. I see his face in theirs every morning when they crawl into bed with me, bedhead and sleepy eyed - and I hear his voice every time Sarah Beth presents a reasonable argument against whatever I might be telling her to do ... and that's often, people. The child is a future litigator, I swear.
Why the disclaimer? Because, despite what you might think from reading this... our relationship is one that I cherish, and share with no one else. I know no other divorced couple who is getting along as well as the two of us... or who has decided to raise their children so well, together. While I am custodial parent - Jim has chosen to make the absolute best of life - bettering himself with the best of education, community service, and mentorship. He is at the top of his class, and making it all work while being a father at the same time. And, while I do find it mildly (ok, INCREDIBLY) annoying that they come home most often with each other's clothes on, and no hairbows, he does a damn fine job being daddy... all the time. He is there when he can be, and sometimes even when he can't be - and is always forgiving of change of schedules, dance recitals, and the millionth question when I am tired of answering.
We do dinner or lunch together at least twice a month - talk about parent teacher conferences, homework, shoe sizes and funny things they say. I call him upon their request, and he always has as long as needed to soothe whatever feeling has been hurt, whatever question needs to be answered, or whatever argument needs to be solved. Sarah Beth rarely asks me her "scientific" questions anymore... as she knows I am always going to tell her daddy knows better than I do.... of course, now she says that boys know more than girls, which we all know is obviously not true... but, I digress.
Every divorced couple should be more like us... raising our children together, and forgetting the rest of the stuff in the middle. It's really not that important anyway.
Well... usually.
:-)
Rachael
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